Kansas City's Belcher in fatal double shooting

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Kansas City media cover the scene of an apparent suicide of Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher, who earlier shot and killed his girlfriend elsewhere in Kansas City Missouri December 1, 2012.
REUTERS/Dave Kaup

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Kansas City Chiefs personnel stand outside the team's practice facility following an apparent murder-suicide involving linebacker Jovan Belcher and his girlfriend in Kansas City Missouri December 1, 2012.
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Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher is pictured in this undated handout photo obtained by Reuters December 1, 2012. Belcher committed suicide December 1, 2012 at the NFL team's practice facility near Arrowhead Stadium after fatally shooting his girlfriend at her home, police reported.
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A Kansas City Chiefs security person guards the entrance to the Chiefs' training facility following an apparent murder-suicide involving Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher, who took his life after shooting his girlfriend elsewhere in Kansas City Missouri December 1, 2012.
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Kansas City Chiefs personnel stand outside the team's training facility following an apparent murder-suicide involving linebacker Jovan Belcher and his girlfriend in Kansas City Missouri December 1, 2012.
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Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco (L) lies on the turf after being sacked by Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher during the first half of their AFC Wild Card NFL playoff football game in Kansas City, Missouri in this January 9, 2011 file photo. Belcher committed suicide December 1, 2012 at the NFL team's practice facility near Arrowhead Stadium after fatally shooting his girlfriend at her home, police reported.
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Pittsburgh Steelers' Jonathan Dwyer (L) is stopped by Kansas City Chiefs' Jovan Belcher (R) and Justin Houston during the fourth quarter of their NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in this November 12, 2012 file photo. Belcher committed suicide December 1, 2012 at the NFL team's practice facility near Arrowhead Stadium after fatally shooting his girlfriend at her home, police reported.
REUTERS/David DeNoma/Files

KANSAS CITY, Missouri The National Football League (NFL) was left reeling in horror on Saturday after Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher murdered his girlfriend and committed suicide.

The 25-year-old Belcher shot Kassandra Perkins at their home on Saturday morning then drove his car to the team's training facility near Arrowhead Stadium and turned the gun on himself just as police arrived.

"As officers pulled up and were getting ready to get out of their car, they heard a gunshot," Kansas City police spokesman Darin Snapp said.

"The individual, it appears, took his own life."

Snapp said Belcher shot himself in the head in front of Chiefs' head coach Romeo Crennel and general manager Scott Pioli.

"He was not threatening the employees at all," Snapp said. "He was just talking to them and thanking them for everything they had done for him."

Snapp said police had earlier been called to a nearby house after reports that a woman, identified as Belcher's 22-year-old girlfriend Perkins, had been shot multiple times. She was later pronounced dead at hospital.

Local media reported that Belcher and Perkins had a three-month-old daughter and Perkins' mother witnessed the killing and called police.

"This is part of the tragedy of urban living in this country," Kansas City Mayor Sly James told reporters outside the practice facility.

"Handguns all over the place, people blowing themselves away, and others. At some point we have to get a handle on this kind of stuff. We are not doing a good job of it."

The Chiefs' chairman Clark Hunt issued a statement.

"The entire Chiefs family is deeply saddened by today's events, and our collective hearts are heavy with sympathy, thoughts and prayers for the families and friends affected by this unthinkable tragedy," Hunt wrote.

"We will continue to fully cooperate with the authorities and work to ensure that the appropriate counseling resources are available to all members of the organization."

The Chiefs have won just one of 11 games this season, the worst record in the NFL. They were due to host the Carolina Panthers at Arrowhead on Sunday.

The Chiefs confirmed to the NFL that the game would go ahead.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the Chiefs and the families and friends of those who lost their lives in this terrible tragedy," an NFL spokesman said.

"We have connected the Chiefs with our national team of professional counselors to support both the team and the families of those affected. We will continue to provide assistance in any way that we can."

Belcher was signed by the Chiefs in 2009 after he was overlooked in the NFL draft and established himself as a regular starter in his second season.

Earlier this year, he signed a one-year deal worth just under $2 million. This season Belcher started 10 of 11 games, making 38 tackles.

Belcher is just the latest NFL player to commit suicide in recent years, amid increasing concerns about the long term dangers of head injuries from repeated concussions in the sport.

The tight-knit NFL community was stunned by the latest news.

"There is nothing profound or comforting to say that can help us understand or explain a situation like this," tweeted NFL Players Association assistant executive George Atallah.

Defensive end Justin Tuck, a two-time Super Bowl winner with the New York Giants, also passed on his condolences to the Chiefs on his Twitter account.

"Man prayers go out to the KC Chiefs community and families after this mornings tragic incident," he wrote.

CLEVELAND Lawmakers in Ohio approved a bill on Friday that opens the way for licensed gun owners to carry concealed weapons on college campuses, less than two weeks after a man injured 11 in a stabbing attack at Ohio State University.

CHICAGO A longtime activist Chicago priest who has marched in protests, attended vigils and delivered sermons decrying violence in the city's most deadly year in nearly two decades, fears the surge in murders could continue into 2017.

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